Spring/Summer 2008 Volume 4, Issue 2 - The SMART Journal

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The SMART Journal Spring/Summer 2008 Page 76 will be difficult to determine in this study. Experiences are subjective and one person’s interpretation of an event or situation may be vastly different from the next. While the participant may not be able to speak to the individual experiences and opinions of other members of the football team, our hope was that he could speak to the general “feel” of the group in addition to his own personal experiences and opinions. It is important to reiterate that generalization is not the primary objective of this study, nor are we seeking to draw any particular conclusions about the situation in general. This study sought to find specifically how the changes at this University impacted the lives of this individual and his teammates and coaches so that universities that make this transition in the future do not neglect these student-athletes. By raising awareness of the experiences of these athletes, our hope was to remind universities that the mission of their athletic department should revolve around creating a positive academic and athletic experience for its student-athletes and not solely around revenue generation. FINDINGS NARRATIVE ANALYSIS Our participant, Jim, is an imposing figure standing a little over six feet tall and weighing what appears to be at least 230 pounds. He looked like a football player: big, strong, and athletic. Jim was also confident, almost cocky, in the way that he carried himself. He is a younger guy, only two years out of college so before the researchers, we were worried that he might not have much to say in the interview. As soon as the researchers saw him, we did not worry anymore as they knew he would have a lot to say. Jim’s story as a college athlete is a story of growth. He was always big but wasn’t always an athlete. Entering college, Jim did not picture himself as a Division I caliber football player. He had actually decided to attend a Division III school because that’s where he “really wanted to go to school.” Football was merely an afterthought. However, a spontaneous visit to the university led to the spontaneous decision to play for a championship caliber Division II school. Although the university was a good fit academically, Jim admitted that he “mainly came for football.” Each year, Jim was faced with difference challenges as a football player (injury, lack of playing time, winning, losing, etc…) but by the end of his tenure as an athlete, he proudly admits that he was a DI-AA player on an NFL (National Football League) Scout Watch List. Further, once he graduated, he changed roles and became an assistant coach for the university’s football team. YEAR ONE Judging by his body language and frequent laughter, Jim’s experience during his first year was not indicative of the typical year of a DI-AA football player. However, at this point, Jim was not a DI-AA football player as the University had yet to make the switch from Division II. He did not do well in school and was overwhelmed by the spectacle of college football he stated, “It was novel: the traveling, going to stadiums. It was really exciting.” For the first time, he traveled with the team (usually by bus) and “wasn’t hyper-responsible” so he performed poorly academically. This did not seem to be an issue as the academic expectations were quite low. Jim said, “[T]here’s really not that much talk about ‘get A’s.’ It’s ‘get a degree.’ That’s the expectation. I guess, stay eligible and get a degree.” Despite the apparent lack of academic expectations, there were lofty expectations for football-related activities. He spent as many as six hours on a regular day on these activities during his first year as a player (he did redshirt during the previous year, which means that he was a member of the team but did not play and therefore did not use a year of eligibility). The pressure to perform, especially as one of the younger and less experienced players, was overwhelming for Jim at times but he described the experience as “really fun.” Volume 4, Issue 2
The SMART Journal Spring/Summer 2008 Page 77 Despite the high level of commitment by the players, the football program at the university remained unsophisticated. This lack of sophistication had a significant impact on Jim’s first year. He described long bus rides, outdated equipment, and a lack of manpower on the coaching staff. This led to a lack of organization, particularly during the off-season when players were urged to complete their workouts without supervision from the coaching staff. However, the way Jim spoke of these off-season workouts left little doubt that most athletes completed them. It was just a matter of where and with whom. YEAR TWO When asked about his experience during his first year, Jim’s first adjective was “fun.” When asked about his second year, the first words out of his mouth were: “We had a really good team.” The focus had changed from his individual experiences to the overall team experience. This was not surprising considering he spent the first part of the year recovering from injury which prevented him from excelling individually. Again, he took advantage of the opportunity to let us know that he was a premier player on the team despite the injury saying, “I was actually alternating starts with (another player). He was an All-American his senior year.” After that, his focus shifted quickly back to the team and its success. During this final year as a Division II school, the team lost in the semi-finals of Division II and lost only one other game all year. Jim explained how the team success affected his experience saying, “Everything was really smooth. When you’re winning, everything is really smooth, I think.” Jim also took a positive approach to his personal experience. The experience was an enjoyable one despite the injury. He described less pressure since he was not playing as much and had a year of experience under his belt. Plus, he pointed out that “you don’t get graded that hard when you’re winning by 20.” It seemed as though part of him wanted to be the star and the one with all the pressure on him. However, there was another part of him that was content to simply be associated with something successful without much personal recognition. YEAR THREE The struggle for balance between personal success and team success took another turn during Jim’s third year. This was the first year that the University’s football program was DI-AA as opposed to Division II. Convinced that the team would have won the National Championship had it remained in Division II, Jim describes a new type of motivation. No longer a contender for a championship because of their status as a DI- AA school, the team’s focus shifted to merely winning a few games against these tougher opponents. There was some uncertainty going into that year about how the team would fare against tougher competition. Jim stated, “we’re gonna play these I-AA teams every week and it’s a big deal if we beat one of these teams.” Despite playing tougher opponents, the team was still successful, achieving a 9-2 record and a ranking of #16 among DI-AA schools, both tremendous accomplishments for a team in its first year of DI-AA. That year’s team had tremendous talent and “sent a lot of guys to the pros.” Personally, Jim’s junior year was his best. He was healthy and in the best shape of his life. He stated: Out of high school, I never thought I was that good of a player. Like, I didn’t expect to go to like a good DII or a DI… so then it’s like DII, this is cool. But then going to DI-AA, I was like ‘are these guys gonna be a lot better than me?’ And then that year, since I improved so much, I was like I’m as good or better than these guys. It was during this year that Jim found himself on an NFL Scout Watch List. Volume 4, Issue 2
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Spring/Summer 2008 Volume 4, Issue 2 - The SMART Journal

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